Navy Yard May Get Spent Nuclear Fuel

Portsmouth Among Alternatives To Idaho Site

The federal government is considering permanently storing some of the deadliest material on Earth - spent nuclear fuel - at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, a Department of Energy spokeswoman said Friday.

The energy department will look at storing spent Navy nuclear fuel at the downtown Portsmouth shipyard as an alternative to storage at a controversial Idaho facility, said spokeswoman Amber Jones.

FOR THE RECORD - Published correction ran Wednesday, September 8, 1993.A story on Saturday's front page on the possibility of storing spent nuclear fuel at Norfolk Naval Shipyard incorrectly attributed a description of the fuel's deadliness to Department of Energy spokeswoman Amber Jones. Nuclear experts have said spent nuclear fuel is so deadly that it can kill bystanders in minutes if left unshielded.

The energy department is also considering alternate sites at naval shipyards in Maine, Washington state and Hawaii, Jones said, as well as sites at some of its own facilities in New York, Washington state and South Carolina.

It is the first time Navy facilities had ever been considered as permanent storage sites for spent fuel, which emits so much deadly radiation that it can kill bystanders in minutes if it is unshielded, Jones said.

One local environmentalist said the yard in Portsmouth, located on the southern branch of the Elizabeth River near downtown Norfolk, would not be a safe storage place.

``Storing highly radioactive spent fuel rods at Norfolk Naval Shipyard would be an outrage,'' said Robert Deegan, who monitors nuclear issues for the Sierra Club's Virginia chapter. ``The yard is right in the middle of a highly populated area. If for any reason there were a leak, you'd have a major problem on your hands.''

He said he was worried about the possibility that hurricanes or other severe storms could damage nuclear-waste containers, or that accidents at the busy yard could cause leaks.

Earlier this summer, a federal judge in Idaho banned further shipments of spent fuel to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, a 900-square mile site in Idaho's arid eastern flatlands, until the Energy Department completed an environmental impact statement.

The department will consider alternate site storage as part of an expanded environmental impact statement for the Idaho facility, Jones said.

The public can comment on the department's proposal to expand the enviromental impact statement until Oct. 4. The department has set a Nov. 1 deadline for completing its plan for implementing the enviromental impact statement and a June 1995 deadline for completing the statement itself.

U.S. District Court Judge Harold Ryan's order, which sharply criticized Energy Department operations at the Idaho site, forced the return of two 114-ton casks of spent fuel that had been en route from Newport News Shipbuilding to Idaho.

The Navy has said the order would delay planned refuelings of its nuclear ships and could threaten national security.

But last month, the state of Idaho agreed to permit limited Navy fuel shipments when the Navy and the Energy Department agreed to expand the environmental impact statement and consider alternate sites.

The agreement, which the judge must still approve, allows the Navy to ship to Idaho five containers of spent fuel removed from the USS Enterprise, undergoing refueling at the Newport News yard.

COMMENTS?

The Energy Department is giving the public until Oct. 4 to comment on the possibility of storing spent nuclear fuel at Navy shipyards.

To do so:

* Call 1-800-682-5583 to record a comment or send a fax comment. The line is open 24 hours a day. operators are on duty from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Calls at other times will be recorded. Callers must give their names and addreses.